Chapter Nine: Through the Interface

NINE

Through the Interface

Now it is time to relinquish our ‘step back’, and it is time to step forward again. We have laid the foundation of simple associations; by that I mean associations that are easy to swallow, easy to digest. Meat is only beneficial if one is able to assimilate it. Without the strength to assimilate higher truths, these truths will be vomited back out. Not only will they not have been a benefit, not only will they have done no more than leave a bad taste upon the pallet, but by the rejection of them, they will be less recommendable to the next in line.

For example, a man that is not prepared for the concept of God creating evil will vomit it back up. But we are prepared. By prepared, I mean we have the constitution of a billy goat; or, we have progressed from the tit to the tin can.

Let me remind you. Man is the image and glory of God. By that I mean, that part of man which may be communicated with. Communication is key. Of course, I speak of an interface between the spiritual and the corporeal: something reflective yet permeable, allowing communication in two directions. I have alluded to this interface as a mirror, and also in mathematical terms: ‘both sides of the equation must be equal’. Face answers face, I have pointed out. Man looks in the mirror at God and sees man - but, both sides of the equation are equal. God looks into the mirror at man and sees God - both sides being equal.

Now, this ‘equality’ is meat indeed. It is not the warm, comforting milk of the word. We expect some things to be the same, to possess trans-interfacial equality. Other things, we must assume, need to be maintained. The corporeal temple was equal to the spiritual temple. Man, however, does not exactly present the picture of equality to God. The relationship, the communication, is in flux. They must be maintained.

What I wish to focus on here is anything that might be said to have an equality on the opposing side of an interface. Some may conclude that I am really reaching to make such comparisons. However, I will present each, not per se as a truth in and of itself, but rather, as a framework within which we may assemble earlier frameworks. We have been to the hilltop of higher perspective. We are now familiar with the vantage of our overview. But to reach across the void to the next higher peak requires a bridge that can only be built one stone at a time.

I lift stones to that task. They may at first seem fantastic, but as stones in our new bridge, they are not the destination, but that upon which we travel in our trek to ever higher heights. Our first stone, attached to the bedrock of earnest inquiry, seeks only a mental image of things equal on both sides. We may begin without application, as application will find a place on its own.

Genesis 2:9 presents the ‘ground’ as an interface on a par with the ‘mirror’; trees are presented, aptly enough, as symbolic of the images on either side of the mirror. Indeed, limbs and branches mirror the roots beneath the ground: “And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.”

In regard of the mirroring of the spiritual in the corporeal, application may take root. Our life is a reflection of the greater spiritual life, our knowledge but a dark emulation. Now, here is the part that will seem fantastic (and I’m just running this by you); what if the tree in the middle of the garden did not grow up out of the ground like common trees. The verse states that the trees of life and knowledge were in the midst of the garden but does not per se iterate that they grew from the ground. What if they billowed downward out of mid-air. They would have been spectacular trees among the ordinary.

Moreover, there were two trees in the midst of the garden, and two is the number we now associate with mirrors. Perhaps the two trees mirrored one another: were an equality while not tampered with: the serpent being a part of that stasis until Eve made that stasis more corporeal than spiritual. This all may smack of wild speculation, but here are some things to keep in mind.

God told Adam about the tree before the creation of Eve: Adam told Eve about the tree. The serpent was in the tree of knowledge of good and evil, not the tree of life. Genesis 3:6 indicates that this particular tree, while possibly seen many times, was not viewed the same way as the other trees were viewed. The fruit may not even have been recognized as fruit. There was already knowledge in the garden. Adam named the animals; Eve evinced the ability to reason. There was already a knowledge of good and evil in the garden. Both man and woman regularly communicated with God (did He enter the garden through the tree of life, as the serpent entered the garden through the tree of knowledge of good and evil?)

Both Adam and Eve were aware that eating the fruit had an evil consequence, in that they knew death wasn’t the same thing as life. See Genesis 2:17, “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”

Knowledge is an intimate thing. When a man knows his wife, that knowledge is intimate. A relationship with, and communication with, God is intimate. The relationship turned from God: so, might we not better call that tree the tree of choices?

There is an interesting verse in regard to choosing, and I would like to add it to this exploration of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. It is Isaiah 7:15, “Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.” It is a verse that places two choices in absolute contrast. Butter and honey, being things already made, represent things that are provided by God, which stands in stark opposition to providing for oneself. Perhaps we may visualize the tree of life at an end of the garden opposite the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Every day, in the cool of the evening, the man and woman would go to that end of the garden to refresh themselves in communion with God: He would appear and walk in the garden, coming from the spiritual to the corporeal. Along the way, they were free to pick and eat anything that God had provided for them. But one day, the woman (and the man) chose to eat a fruit that God did not provide - we always assume that God made the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. What if He did not make that fruit?

We know that bad fruit is not the fault of the tree on this side of the ‘ground’, but is due to the roots being somewhere that is bad. God as much as told Adam that the fruit was evil: that there would be an evil outcome. Adam was placed in the garden (Genesis 2:15) as a gardener: he knew trees. He knew the date came from the date palm and the apple from the apple tree. He knew that the fruit of life was found not on the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

We must consider the possibility that the tree of knowledge of good and evil was a wolf in sheep’s clothing; that the ‘good’ part was perhaps all window dressing. Consider this next verse in relation to the tree of knowledge (intimacy) of good (discounted as window dressing) and evil.

Matthew 7:15-20, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.”

Consider also the difference between ‘being rooted’ in God, and in ‘being rooted’ in the devil, or the world. To be rooted in God would produce the fruit of life. What I see in the garden is a tree of life and a tree of death, both exclusive of the other. Both were spiritual trees that bore spiritual fruit. Before the incident, Adam and Eve walked before God naked and without shame. After the incident, shame was the immediate result. They went from a pure state to a tarnished mixture.

 You can’t mix death with life: tainted life is not life.

Check out Matthew 12:33, “Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.”

It is easily seen what sort of ‘fruit’ a man brings forth, just as easy to determine, from that, just what he is rooted in - good or evil. Understand the fruit that Joseph was known by in Genesis 41:15-16, “And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I have dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret it: and I have heard say of thee, that thou canst understand a dream to interpret it. And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace.”

So let me ask, If the things we do and say are the fruit that shows others whether we are rooted in good or evil, aren’t the evil things that God brings upon us our own doing?

Jeremiah 6:19 puts it this way, “Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts.”

I think I have thoroughly hinted at the concept of our ‘roots’ being spiritual. I have said that what we do and say indicates whether we are rooted in good or evil: God or Mammon. If all action proceeds from thought, then action may be viewed as ‘fruit’ while thought may be viewed as ‘roots’. If the fruit is in the corporeal, then the roots are in the spiritual. Therefore, “the fruit of their thoughts” may be considered the corporeal outcome of their spiritual behavior.

Such reasoning opens our eyes to verses like Proverbs 24:12, “If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not He that pondereth the heart (our roots) consider it? and He that keepeth thy soul (our spiritual otherself), doth not He know it? and shall not He render to every man according to his (the man's)works?”

Hopefully, I’ve raised more questions than eyebrows. But, it just keeps getting better. The question must be set forth -- if you are rooted in the spiritual side of a two-sided existence, and thoughts are spiritual, are your thoughts always your own? This will be a topic for later exploration, but allow this hint to peak your interest. Daniel 5:23, titillates thusly, “The God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways.”

In closing this segment, I wish to point to the truly fantastic. It has been asserted that the interface between corporeal and spiritual is a medium of communication, and here we think of that ‘still small voice’. But, I have here an instance of the interface producing noise (if the corporeal tabernacle is what Job alludes to). Job 36:29, “Also can any understand the spreadings of the clouds, or the noise of His tabernacle?”

I am reminded of God speaking to Moses in the tabernacle, but since Job is touted as the oldest book in the Bible, it may simply refer to the vault of heaven as God’s tabernacle. Even so . . .

Eight: Facing the Mirror

EIGHT

Facing the mirror

There are only two directions associated with a mirror; one looks toward the mirror or one looks away from the mirror. There may be, therefore, only one of two images in a mirror: a face or a back. If you stood on one side of a two-way mirror, and you had to read the lips of the person whose face you saw, once he should turn away, all communication would be lost. Your communication might then be ‘turn back around’ - oh, but wait! He can’t hear you. You bang your fist against the mirror: perhaps, you reason, he may feel the movement. When that fails, there is still recourse. It is simple: send someone around and through the door, into the room with the message to turn back around. Did I say simple? Well, you see that there are only two working directions.

Judges 5:9 shows one of them, “My heart (my mind) is toward . . . ”

Now, if that person on the other side of the two-way mirror knew he was supposed to face the mirror to communicate, his turning deliberately away might eventually get under your skin. 1 Kings 14:9 paints the picture, “But hast done evil above all that were before thee: for thou hast gone and made thee other gods, and molten images, to provoke Me to anger, and hast cast Me behind thy back.”

How do we communicate with each other? We face the people we talk to. Sometimes, I multitask, turning to what I am doing while I talk. They usually find their way back into my face. However, what would happen if my habit was to turn my communication away from them? They might wonder why I stopped talking before I reached the end of the sentence. They might misunderstand what I said. They might even take offense.

Communication is key.

What if I asked a question and that other person chose not to answer. “Honey, do you love me?” (Long pause.)

Deuteronomy 30:17 puts it, “But if thine heart (your mind) turn away.”

Okay. So you understand the concept, but, you are still a little vague on the particulars. You say, I go to church; I don’t hurt anybody; I . . . and then your voice trails as you imagine yourself as a Jew in Jesus’ day. You say, I go to synagogue; I don’t hurt anybody; I . . . and then your voice trails as you imagine yourself as a Hebrew in Moses’ day. You say, I sacrifice at the temple; I don’t hurt anybody; I . . . (Excuses through the ages: they all sound alike). What about that idol beneath the pillow in your tent? But, what’s that you’re saying, “Crucify Him?” And, what about that Sunday after-church glow? “Yeah, let’s go shopping at J. C. Penny.”

We find in Jeremiah 17:5, “Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart (whose mind) departeth from the Lord.”

There are many ways to turn away from the mirror. Without the ingredient of personal tragedy, many people simply don’t seem that interested. What is happening when a person turns from the mirror? What are the mechanics involved?

Ezekiel 14:3 gives us a clue, “Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart (their

mind), and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be inquired of

at all by them?”

What are they paying the most attention to in this example? So what if they don’t bow to graven images - there is something that smacks of importance in their estimation; something that is raised in opposition to communication with God. Now, I know that man constantly slips up. You know that. What is more important, God knows that.

King David lived a violent life as a warrior. He killed people. God wouldn’t let him build the temple because of the blood on his hands, but God forgave him, loved and blessed him, called him a man after His own heart.

David slipped up; he had an affair with a married woman; he had her husband murdered. God killed his first son by that woman, but He forgave David, loved and blessed him, called him a man after His own heart.

David made mistakes but always turned back to the mirror, craving communication with God.

Now, Solomon also had a relationship with God. God blessed Solomon with wisdom, riches, and peace. But Solomon turned away, stopped communicating.

1 Kings 11:4 points to the difference between David and his son, “For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart (his mind) after other gods: and his heart (his mind) was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart (the mind) of David his father.”

As has already been pointed out, false gods and graven images are not the only things people turn away to. But, whatever they turn to, communication with God is sacrificed: is accounted and esteemed of lesser value. Choices are made.

See 2 Chronicles 16:7, “Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria, and not relied on the Lord thy God, therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thine hand.”

By turning away, people set in motion spiritual laws (Universal Spiritual Mechanics, or USMs) that have results on the corporeal plane.

Proverbs 1:31-32 shows that you reap what you sow, “Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.”

I’ll say it again, communication is key.

King Saul chose communication with a familiar spirit over communication with God. He had communication with God but failed to retain it.

1 Chronicles 10:13-14 tells it, “So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the Lord, even against the word of the Lord, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to inquire of it; And inquired not of the Lord: therefore He slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse.”

Why was Saul a ‘transgressor’? Saul had entered into a contract with God. A covenant with God may be seen as a peace treaty. With every covenant, with every contract, terms and conditions are set up as

the boundaries of the agreement. A ‘term’ that provides a consequence for a type of action is called

a law - it governs the covenant. Saul did not act in ignorance.

Generally speaking, even when we turn away, There is a remedy: just turn back. It is not a game that God should put on His sniper camouflage and pick us off one at a time. The whole point is communication. You have to ask yourself, ‘why has God invested such an effort in calling us back’? Does it seem that God’s ultimate goal, after all that, is to destroy us anyway? I say God never really wanted to destroy anyone. Just look at the lengths to which God is willing to go to have us back.

Just look, for instance, at Jeremiah 26:13, “Therefore now amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the Lord your God; and the Lord will repent Him of the evil that He hath pronounced against you.”

God is not unchanging, but willing to change in a heartbeat to have us back again. That may, in fact, be seen as God’s major campaign. See the two Kings.

1 Kings 12:27 says, “Then shall the heart (the mind) of this people turn again unto their lord,” and 1 Kings 18:37 says, “Thou hast turned their heart (their mind) back again.”

So, let us ask the question. What is ‘turning away’, exactly? Is it a total, even aggressive, rejection? I don’t think so - that would put them squarely in the enemy camp: no, we are talking about God’s chosen, His elect; we are talking about God’s peculiar treasure. So then, what is ‘turning away’? If it is not total, quite frankly, it is partial. If we go back to the example of the two-way mirror, does that other person stop talking when he turns away?

That can be accomplished while still facing the mirror. More likely, he is still talking. He just doesn’t want you to be able to read his lips. He knows that the terms have been set that he must face the mirror, and here is where free will comes in, he wants to say ‘this little bit is just about me’. That is where a conversation becomes a monologue.

Divided attention is like the steam lost from a tea kettle. It is dissipation. Even so, God holds out for our return. He wants our focus on Him. There is a work in progress that requires it. In the case of King Saul, it was put forward that he had transgressed against the ‘word’ of God. God did not stand at Saul’s elbow and tug at his sleeve, saying, “No! No! Don’t deal with familiars!” But, there was the covenant; there was the law. Saul was as versed in the word of God as any other of his day. There were, also, the prophets. In fact, it was Samuel that Saul sought out, and that tells us one important, but overlooked fact.

Samuel spoke the word of God, but Saul gave more credence to the messenger. Saul had ‘made flesh his arm’. Refer back to Jeremiah 17:5, also refer back to 2 Chronicles 16:7. Some people stand waiting, longing to hear the voice of the Lord, but the voice is already there.

See Deuteronomy 30:10, “If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if thou turn unto the Lord thy God with all thine heart (your mind), and with all thy soul.”

And let me just quickly add that God’s communications to us have been greatly misunderstood. God has never said, “So, you’ve dissed Me again!” (ZAPPP!!!)

He says things more like this: Jeremiah 44:7, “Wherefore commit ye this great evil against your souls.”

Our existence began within the framework of a relationship (that means communication) with God. How, I ask, could turning away not be a serious issue? Any man or woman that knows what it feels like to suddenly find out their spouse has been cheating on them can understand, and even sympathize, with the next verse: James 4:4, “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.”

It has been said that there are two ways to learn: one, you are truly interested; two, it is hammered into your head by repetition. So, I’ll say it again. Communication is the issue. You can turn toward the mirror and communicate with God, or you can turn to the world and talk to it. If you talk to God, people will see the proof of it. If you talk to the world, people will see the proof of it.

1 John 4:5 points to the evidence, “They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and

the world heareth them.”

We all know people out of whom we never hear a spiritual word, neither truth or righteousness, nor mention of God or Jesus. They speak exclusively and ‘offensively’ of the world. They speak of eating and drinking, or sport and entertainment, or their individual right to do and say whatever they choose. They are preachers of the world, seeking converts. They have only hatred for anything higher than themselves. They speak to their own, and their company is legion.

2 Corinthians 4:4 tells us, “In whom the god of this world (the spirit of worldliness) hath blinded

the minds (spiritual eyes) of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”

It always begins as divided attention. One first forsakes belief (or focus), by turning away. Then one’s spiritual eyes (their minds) become blind to what is behind them. It is a truth expressed in a common saying: “out of sight, out of mind.”

It is not possible that we should behold both God and the world. We are reminded of the scripture that tells us we cannot serve both God and Mammon. It is just not possible. In our reality, we see one thing at the exclusion of something else; we think or say one thing at the exclusion of something else; we can believe in and serve the one only by exclusion of the other. This is called the universal law of displacement. Our corporeal law of displacement is a reflection of this: fill a glass with water; drop a rock in the glass; water spills out of the glass. The two may not occupy the same space.

See the law at work in Hosea 2:5 & 8, “She said, I will go after my lovers, that give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, mine oil and my drink. For she did not know that I gave her corn, and wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they prepared for Baal.”

God is working a work that must be accomplished in circuit. Electricians know that there are both exclusive and inclusive circuits. In certain circuits, to cut off one light is to cut off every light that follows it. In God’s circuit, every light is required to be lit. To look beneath the surface of the laws that God gave to Israel is to see a circuit that is intended to pass through each light, returning to the source what was sent from the source. The laws and sacrifices had an underlying purpose.

See Hosea 6:6-7, “For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. But they like men (but maybe not like the ‘sons of men’) have transgressed the

covenant: there have they dealt treacherously against me.”

Men made the circuit exclusive. It became about the doing of the deed rather than the relationship. Men sought to retain willfulness, power and advantage over other men. A relationship with others is part of the relationship with God, for the circuit must be complete and whole. What we freely receive must be freely passed on: there can be no bottlenecking.

See the circuit in Deuteronomy 10:19, “Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.”

God was prodding man in the right direction. In regard of that ‘right’ direction, it must be said that all attempts were made to get man to face the mirror again; to turn back to God and resume the relationship. We may view, therefore, certain of life’s evils in a new light.

1 Corinthians 11:32 is an example, “But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.”

Imagine for a moment that you are a commander in a war; your ground troops have engaged the enemy. The battle is bitter, some of your troops have deserted to the enemy side. To give your remaining troops an advantage, you call to your troops to retreat to your position: you are going to bomb the enemy. But your troops move closer to the enemy, closer to the influence that has already caused desertions. The jets are almost over the target; the bombs will be dropped at the predetermined time - so you call again to your troops, but minds have been blinded; they are in communication with the doomed: seeds have been planted and they must reap what they have sown.

And what of those men who led those troops with a will opposed to yours, who told their men, “Oh, it’ll be alright.”? When destruction comes, they will be hated by the men below them, and from above: there will be no sympathy.

The following verse speaks of religious leaders of the past but speaks as well of modern church administrators. The verse may be applied to those who covet donations of estates; those administrators who put much effort and time into appeals for trusts and wills, who make long-winded stock prayers, and yet are out of communication with God.

Matthew 23:14 says, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.”

There is a big difference between an occupation with the spiritual and an occupation with the corporeal. Saul was destroyed because he was occupied more with the messenger than he was with the message sender. The troops in my little illustration trusted their immediate superiors more than the commander.

We like to say that we are aligned with God, but does the evidence speak on our behalf? We take on the name of God (i.e., ‘godly’); we take on the name of Christ (i.e., ‘Christian’), but have we not taken those names in vain when our occupation is clearly with the things of the world? A child at the dinner table takes his eyes off of his mother, and thus attempts to choose on his own between the green peas and the cake - he reaches for the cake. Mom slaps his little hand and tells him that he can’t have cake until he eats his peas. Like that child, our face must turn back. There is a way that seems right to a child, but the end thereof is a slapped hand.

Matthew 6:32 directs, “(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.”

Seven: Mirror Image

SEVEN

Mirror Image

So, when we see, we know, if we take it upon ourselves to inquire. We can look through the looking glass into that other realm. Some, no doubt, will look right at it and say, Ah! I don’t see a thing! But, we see through a glass, darkly. I was once instructed on how to see things in the dark, when you look right at them but can’t see them. The trick is to look a little to the right or left; slightly above it, or slightly below it. I employ that technique in my studies; the Holy Spirit may drop truth in my lap, but I still need a means to focus on it.

We study the great reflection; the mirror, an interface not unlike the rule of thumb for equations: ‘both sides must be equal'. And, as in patterns that must yet be built, not all reflections are immediate. Proverbs 27:19 speaks of reflections both corporeal and spiritual, “As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man.”

Think ‘communication’.

The image and glory of God in the corporeal world is that part of man that may be communicated with. Communication is essential. Even in such a lengthy process as a seed growing from the ground to become like the tree it fell from, communication is key. Matthew 5:48 is a beautiful expression of that process, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” There are three ways in which the equality may be seen on both sides of the mirror. There are the immediate reflection, the future result, and the equality of a scale (the fulcrum theory) which demonstrates the rule of ‘equal but opposite’.

This latter will be developed more fully in due course, but for now Matthew 6:2-6 will give an indication, “Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret Himself shall reward thee openly. And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.”

Bonus verse: 2 Corinthians 12:10 is also an example of the fulcrum theory, “When I am weak, then am I strong.”

1 Peter 5:6 is an example of the future result, “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.” Remembering the process of the seed becoming like the tree it fell from, 2 Corinthians 3:18 is another example of the future result. “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass (mirror) the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by (communication from) the Spirit of the Lord.”

Many examples of immediate reflection press the inquirer. Why they are immediate is due to the ingredient of ‘choice’. We may choose to turn our backs on the spiritual half of our existence; we may employ all the worldly excuses, thinking that the Bible was written by primitive men, or thinking that those who assail us with spiritual urgings are all whacked, but once we really investigate through reason we see that the spirit is not on the sidelines, but in the game.

After reasonably assessing the value of communications that others discard, we may look into the mirror and choose the brighter appearance. We, as a people, cannot deny that we constantly adopt what we like in others: postures, attire, pithy expressions, catchy one-liners, etc. If we look through the mirror, but see ourselves rather than God, we may attire ourselves as God: the more we choose to put on, the more we look like Him, as in Luke 6:36, “Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.”

There was a time when God’s words from the Old Testament made no sense. Like most other people, my eyes glazed briefly, then I moved on - without understanding. It was like playing poker without the face cards. Now, however, I understand that both halves of existence are in a state of flux, striving for equilibrium. Both halves of the equation must be equal. That is why we see God saying, in Leviticus 11:44, such things as, “For I am the Lord your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy.”

I submit this paraphrased version for clarity, speaking to His image and glory, God said, “You will be holy if you dedicate yourselves; you can be like Me.”

We see in Leviticus 11:45 that it was God’s express purpose that His image and glory be a true reflection, “For I am the Lord that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for (the reason that) I am holy.” That leads us to the divine nature we have mistakenly set at a distance: Leviticus 20:7, “Sanctify (hallow) yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for (the reason that) I am the Lord your God.”

When we continue to read ‘I am the Lord your God’ in this context, it begins to mean substantially more than just ‘I am your superior’. Leviticus 21:8 reminds us that the reflection reenacts reality’s every posture: “Thou shalt sanctify (hallow) him therefore; for (the reason that) he offereth the bread of thy God: he shall be holy (absolute) unto thee: for I the Lord, which sanctify (absolve) you, am holy (absolute).”

I know, I parenthesize a lot, but these thesaurus words that I insert add to our vantage a broader scope. We need to remind ourselves, at this point, that we are the image and glory of an invisible, spiritual God. That part of us that can be communicated with looks like Him. Some of us want to look more Like Him; this is a place we have come to because of His communications. If He is righteous, we look more like Him when we put on righteousness.

If He takes time to be refreshed, we also look refreshed when we take the time. God made the

Sabbath, being a time for joy, a marker of His relationship to His own. It was a point in the contract

that God made with His peculiar treasure that they take time to be refreshed (to unwind) with Him.

Exodus 31:12-17 points to that covenant, “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify (hallow) you. Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy (spiritual) unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul (the part of us that exists on the other side) shall be cut off from among his people. Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest (balance), holy (special) to the Lord: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He rested, and was refreshed (renewed).”

There is a little something going on when we look into the mirror, and God looks back. It is like a spiritual step-up converter. The next verse works like this: J is the reflection of G; J is elevated with a concomitant elevation in G: G is the elevation in J, and J is the elevation in G. When one becomes greater with the greatness of the other in himself, the other makes the one greater within himself and by doing so, may increase greatness.

John 13:31-32 puts it like this, “Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified (magnified), and God is glorified (magnified) in Him. If God be glorified (made greater) in Him, God shall also glorify (magnify) Him in Himself, and shall straightway glorify (make) Him (greater).”

The same mechanics may be seen to work between Christ and His disciples. When they become more than they are, Christ is magnified, then God is magnified (with the infusion indicated in the verse above). Now, God is more like Christ, who is more like God, whose infusion is turned to the disciples, who are more like Christ.

Galatians 4:6 says it well, “And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts (minds), crying, Abba, Father.”

The investigator wishes to investigate invisibilities. Where does he begin? Is there a methodology for such an investigation? How close is the first clue? Here is a really wild concept: everyone knows the truth, even the nonbelievers, and believers in whatever else. They twist the truth; misuse and abuse it, but they know it.

They demand that God be proven to them, and some will set barbed wire around their challenge: ‘prove that God exists using only non-Biblical sources.’ I say to them, ‘prove that God does not exist using only the Bible.’

One may only prove the existence of God in the existence of the challenger. The truth is there, inside them. There is no good excuse not to believe. Romans 1:19-20 says, “That which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.” They do not see God because they wish not to; they have turned away from the mirror.

While we are involved in a study of shadows and indications, in a study of symbols and clues and representations, we are not merely concerned with hypotheses. We are sleuthing out reality. We sniff tracks like a seasoned hound hot on the heels of truth. We know the tricks of our prey; we have some tricks of our own. We will keep our nose to the ground. Our quarry is yet to be seen, ah, but the tracks - they are real.

Notice that when something occurs in the spiritual realm, something occurs in the corporeal. Realizing that both sides of the equation must be equal, we know that the reverse is also true. This is not new to our pallet, but we will discover new recipes. We will sample and sample until our taste is quite refined.

Matt. 16:19 offers new cuisine: a dish with meat, “I will give unto thee the keys of (what opens and closes) the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

I can do that?

Let me point out that this verse indicates things that are ‘bound’ in heaven. They are bound there because of our actions here. Our actions here may also loose them from their bonds. In other words, it is possible to lock and unlock certain spiritual doors.

There is a place in the book of Revelation where an angel flies by and shouts about the fall of Babylon. Its inhabitants are replaced with devils and spirits and birds: things of the air. Here it is,

Revelation 18:2, “He cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is

fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of

every unclean and hateful bird.” Note that two words are particularly prison-like: ‘hold’ and

‘cage’.

Also, note that the message ‘is fallen’ is twice said. What I ask is this: is there a heavenly, or spiritual Babylon? Was the fall of ours just one of two? Will the Babylon of the other half of our existence be ‘bound’ or ‘locked’?

If we think at all, we don’t often think of God being in the thick of it - where He is affected by mortal affairs; we don’t often think that our spiritual counterparts might cause Him pain. This is what Ezekiel 6:9 says, “I am broken with their whorish heart (mind).”

Is it so hard to imagine that the part of us that can be communicated with can answer back? Can we imagine that our communications to God are hurtful? Ezekiel 14:5, quite frankly, says yes, “That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart (mind), because they are all estranged from Me through their idols.” We must face God, else our backs are to Him. Ezekiel 20:16 shows His pain, “Because they despised My judgments and walked not in My statutes, but polluted My sabbaths: for their heart went after their idols.” Our divided heart is God’s broken heart.